Horse spends much of his time in his shelter

[RemarkableOwl21]

Hi everyone! My sweet boy lives out 24/7 in a fairly large field by himself. He shares a fence line with another horse and the shelter straddles the fence line. In the shelter is a shared round bale, water, and he gets his grain there too, twice per day. There are other horses in similar setups that he can see around him.

I’m concerned because he is always in his shelter when I visit and doesn’t seem to be spending much time grazing in his field, even though there is nice grass right now (deep south location) and he happily and eagerly chomps away on grass when I hand graze him. The other horses, including his direct neighbor, are out grazing and running around much more often than he is.

There was no change when he was in full fly sheet, neck cover, mask, so I don’t think it is a bug thing.

We have been at this boarding barn since summer. Previously he was in a pasture with other horses and he was always out grazing with the herd. I rarely found him in his shelter, but at the other barn his hay and water were not in the shelter.

He has not lost weight since we moved barns.

My guesses have been either he likes to guard the roundbale that he shares with his neighbor, or maybe it has something to do with him not being part of a herd?

Granted, he could be grazing overnight, but I’m not sure. I still find it odd he is always in his shelter during various times of day.

I want to make sure he’s happy and getting sufficient movement.

[GraceLikeRain]

@RemarkableOwl21

In the shelter is a shared round bale, water, and he gets his grain there too, twice per day.

With a roundbale in the field my mare walks precisely far enough to get to her water and grain. If she had all three in one location she would have zero motivation to leave her shelter.

[2DogsFarm]

Do you generally go there around the same time?
You might just be seeing the part of your horse’s day he’s devoted to the equine version of Netflix & Chill.

My pony’s routine includes a nap, just outside his stall around 10A.
Usually in warmer weather, but I’ve seen him there when, IMHO, he’d be comfier inside the stall
My 3 have free access to stalls from pasture, but often choose to line up along the West Wall of the barn. That faces the house.
All the better to see me & if I appear headed to the barn, they disperse & go into their stalls, because: Food!

[RemarkableOwl21]

I do visit at different times, morning, midday, late afternoon.

[2DogsFarm]

Then my guess (from 20yrs of having them home) is this new place, furnished with food, water & a neighbor, is now his Most Bestest Place to Be.
That could very well change after time.
As long as he’s happy < not losing weight or showing other signs, like pacing the fenceline, weaving in the shelter, or?? - I’d say let him be.
Horses don’t think like we do.
Things that make them happy, can make us go

[fivestrideline]

My gelding refused to leave the dry lot for over a month (despite his herd buddies being out on the gorgeous grass). Hay, water, and fans/fly spray system were all in the shelter.

He finally decided that friends and grass were worth it after about a month - I expect you have a lazy bachelor with no buddies to drag him out of the shelter for playtime and co-op grazing. I wouldn’t worry about him as long as he’s happy and in good weight, just be aware he may pack on some pounds .

[RemarkableOwl21]

Well, when I showed up at 3:30pm today I was very pleasantly surprised to find him grazing in his field. It was a relief.

I’m for sure having some increased anxiety about him since our move to the new farm. The farm is great and the care is very, very good, but he’s had some new medical issues come up, like intense itchiness and a hoof problem.

He came up lame 6 weeks ago on both front feet. The vet diagnosed thin soles and said front feet felt like he had been standing in water for weeks and the soles had compressed. This was odd. I live in a place with very little rain and we had not had much in months.

The only thing I could think of is that he likes to stand in the one part of his shelter that does have some wet ground for a couple days each week after the water trough is dumped and cleaned. There is usually a puddle the first day and then damp ground for 2 more days.

In any event, he’s been wearing soft ride boots and I’ve been meticulous about keeping his feet dry. We are making changes to the location of the water trough to prevent him from standing in the dampness. Thankfully he is fully sound again as of last week and his soles are looking much better. The soft ride boots have been amazing! Highly recommend.

So, this hoof issue is another reason why I want him moving around his field and not standing in just one spot.

Thanks everyone for your insights.

[Foxglove]

My new gelding Bob shares a double shelter (no separation panel) with another gelding Hugh. Bob is food aggressive. Seller disclosed this. If there is one pile of hay, Bob will guard it and chase Hugh off the pile -same with grain if Hugh isn’t done with his, Bob will chase him off. I solved the problem by penning Bob during feeding time. He has his own grain and a small pile of hay; Hugh the same. Fence between.

I was concerned that Bob was guarding the shed as I keep two bale size hay nets in there --one in each corner. Still if he wanted to, Bob could keep Hugh out.

I set a game cam up to record the shed activity.

It was about 50/50. Hugh and Bob are in the shed together and alone. It does not appear that Bob is keeping Hugh off the hay in the shed.

Even so, I put out enough hay on the ground and away from the shed that either horse can get a meal while the other is in the shed.

So, long winded solution is to put up a game came (about $40) and see if your horse is out of the shed more than you think,

[2DogsFarm]

Good posts from you & @Foxglove
Glad to hear your boy is settling in.

I’m just here to add what I meant to post to the Vent thread, but it fits here
Our temps have been rollercoasting for weeks.
We get 50s, with or without sun, for a couple days, then drop to 40s & 30s.
Add in enough rain to keep things soggy
Yesterday was a cool, gray day, night temps dropped to near freezing.
My horses apparently considered the mud unfit to roll in, as all 3 were mudfree when I fed around 4. Still clean when I did my latenight check (& dispensed cookies) around 9.
I curried minimal mud from lower legs & went back to the house satisfied I’d have clean horses in the morning.
The Equine Gods Chuckled
This morning both horse & pony were thoroughly breaded in dried mud
The mini was clean, but he has the least real estate to deal with
Spent a good 1/2hr doing mud removal
& Asking myself **WHY ** rolling in frigid mud seemed like a good thing to do in the dark of night.
They really do not think like we do

[RemarkableOwl21]

I’m seriously thinking about doing this.